Ever since Michael Ippolito was a child, he wanted to be in the military.

Now, the 22-year-old NIU student has been a part of the U.S. Army since he was 17 and has been stationed in Iraq for six months. He’s been away from his family for 11 months.

Immediately following high school graduation, Ippolito left for training.

“I did my basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina,” Ippolito said. “Then I went for my medic training in Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio.”

Ippolito said he plans to use the medical skills he acquires through the service as a stepping stone into medical school.

Ippolito was stationed in Urbana for three days in January before flying with his battalion to Fort Stewart, Ga. He remained in Fort Stewart for four months of training and classes prior to intensive desert training this year from April to May in Fort Irwin, Calif. His latest stops were Kuwait and Baghdad.

College tuition aid aside, Ippolito’s primary incentive for joining the armed forces was education. His college graduation has been postponed three years.

“The total time for training and medic school was about eight months, so that put off college a year,” Ippolito said. “Then in 2003, I was activated for five months and that was a semester. I’ve been gone for about 18 months, so that’s another three semesters. It’s been six semesters total.”

For his 14-day pass, the soldier returned home to what seemed a foreign atmosphere.

“It was really weird,” Ippolito said. “Nobody is the same, all of their problems seem small and meaningless to me, but they make a big deal out of them. I also realized how fake, immature and irresponsible people are. It was great to see my family and close friends, though.”

Ippolito traveled back to Iraq as every worker must after a vacation.

“Deployments are generally a year long,” Ippolito said. “So I have roughly six more months in the sandbox.”

Helping those in need

The soldier has both positive and negative memories of his time in Iraq. The most memorable event for Ippolito showcased humanitarianism.

“We were doing a routine patrol and searching a house,” Ippolito said. “I noticed a very old woman hiding something under a rag. I took the rag off her hands and saw she was in need of serious medical attention.”

The woman had been bitten by a spider, causing her hand to turn shades of blue and maroon.

“The infection was bad and there was so much swelling she couldn’t move her fingers or sleep because the pain was so bad,” Ippolito said.

Over the next few days, Ippolito and his squad members sneaked over to the woman’s home to provide her with medicine and care.

“We couldn’t make a pattern or show favoritism to that particular house, so we had to be careful,” he said. “If the insurgents found she was getting help from the Americans, they would kill her and her family.”

After helping the woman’s hand to heal, the Iraqi woman showed her gratitude with a gift.

“It was the Virgin Mary and Jesus on a plaque,” Ippolito said. “The woman kissed my hands, crying. She thanked her God for sending me. It was the most rewarding and awesome feeling in the world. All I did was help this woman. She went to her old village and told everyone there about how great the Americans are and what we did for her. We showed the people of Iraq that we’re good, not bad. Too bad the media never covers stories like that.”